Bruntwood partners with Beatfreeks to help support the youth of Birmingham

Bruntwood has partnered with Beatfreeks to help support young people in Birmingham to use their creativity for good.

Beatfreeks is a collective of people and companies that empowers young people to challenge themselves and the world around them through creativity.

Whether it's exploring poetry as social commentary, or working with organisations running youth communication campaigns to help them to grow their audiences, the Beatfreeks Collective works to fuel conversations and concepts that encourage people to challenge the way of the world to make it a better place.

Bruntwood was introduced to Beatfreeks through the existing relationship between the Collective and Innovation Birmingham, which is now part of Bruntwood SciTech in the heart of Birmingham’s Knowledge Quarter. Together they explored the benefits of locating creatives alongside technology companies in the iCentrum incubation and coworking space. This partnership amplified how by merging the creative and tech sectors, businesses thrive.

Kate Vokes, Director of Social Impact at Bruntwood said: "We're excited to hear from the talented and passionate young people that live in Birmingham. We believe that by working closely with them, we will be able to support them to develop a brighter future for themselves and the world around them."

"This partnership aligns perfectly to our purpose of creating thriving cities. The thoughts, feelings and hopes of these young people in Birmingham will help us to understand their views of the future of Birmingham and the surrounding region, to help inform our own developments and projects as a business."

Anisa Haghdadi, CEO, Beatfreeks Collective: "We are incredibly excited to be working with Bruntwood as a partner on our pioneering report, Brum Youth Trends. This key piece of research aims to champion and amplify the voices of our city's young people, using the data to lobby for real change in our city and beyond. Birmingham often talks of being the youngest city in Europe but what does this really mean? We need to earn this title.

“With Bruntwood's support, we will together ensure businesses, policy makers and influencers sit up and listen. It wouldn't be possible without partnerships such as this and we hope this will mark the start of a long and fruitful relationship with this fantastic organisation."

Later this year, Bruntwood Works' Director for Birmingham, Rob Valentine, will be speaking at the Brum Youth Trends Summit about the future planning and aspiration for Birmingham, following the publication of the Brum Youth Trends report. Asking young people in Birmingham what they think and feel about themselves, their community and the city's ecosystem, the report explores trends and recommendations to help improve the city's services, products, places and people. As a passionate advocate for the city and West Midlands, Rob is keen to help the region to thrive, supporting communities, the arts and culture in Birmingham. Register for tickets to the Summit here.

We know that young people truly are the future. Through this partnership with Beatfreeks, we aim to support them in improving the world around them.

Find out more about our partnerships across our regions here.